German Swans Sick With Bird Flu

by ScienceDave | June 26, 2007 at 07:26 am

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Six swans have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in South Germany, and represent the first outbreak of the year. Authorities believe it is an isolated incident, and have quarantined the poultry farms in Nuremberg.

The government did not expect the outbreak to spread to other regions of the country, a spokeswoman for the Agriculture Ministry said.

Investigations were focusing on how the disease entered Germany.

It was possible it spread from the Czech Republic, where an outbreak was reported recently, the spokeswoman said.

"But this is only conjecture," she said.

Last year, some 13 European Union member states had confirmed cases of bird flu -- Germany, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, France and Hungary.

Bird flu has been spreading across southeast Asia, killing two people in Vietnam this month, the first deaths there since 2005.

Globally, the H5N1 virus has killed nearly 200 people out of over 300 known cases, according to the World Health Organisation. None of the victims were from Europe.